Prince William spoke about falling in love with Aston Villa after being brought to a competition as a boy.
The heir, 42, said he was grabbed by the “feeling of connectedness” and the passion of his colleague football fans.
Wills also revealed that he visits fan forums anonymously online – and moves his children around when he looks at home to bring the team happiness.
We sat down with the heir of the throne for a chat on Villa's training field on the eve of their Champions League victory at Club Brugge.
They now have a glamor strop with PSG in the last eight to look forward to – and their fans may be able to dream of the glory days when they have lifted the European Cup.
Wills said: “Yes, they won it, 1982, the year that I was born. There is immediately a nice connection with them. “
But how did he become a Villa fan, since he had no clear bond with the midlands?
William, now 42, admits that it was relatively late when he got the bug, but he was grabbed by the comrading, and his interest increased when Villa was relegated in 2016.
He said: “A few moments had happened. I had a few family friends who brought me to my first villa game when I was younger because they are big villa fans.
“It was against Bolton and I was in the stands with my villa Beanie Hoed and I remember that Paul Merson was playing for Villa at the time. With the comradeship among the fans and the singing and singing, I just had the feeling that I heard there.
“From that moment on, I kept an eye on Villa, but initially did not get involved. But Villa, who was relegated to the championship in 2016, made me even more interested, strange.
“A few years earlier we were sixth under Martin O'Neill and now we were not even in the Premier League.
“I am not sure why I became much more interested, but it was perhaps due to the rise of the smartphone.
“I grew up watching Ceefax on television or on the back pages of newspapers and if you didn't have them at hand, you were a bit out of the loop.
“But now you can get so much data and follow how your team always works and there is so much more discussion and debate. That is how my passion has really increased.
“I am incredibly proud of the club and the journey on which it has been. It is difficult to put into words and many villa fans still squeeze themselves a bit that we are here and we did this. “
'The atmosphere was electric'
William praised manager Unai Emery and said he can learn from his exceptional eye for detailed and man management skills.
“He continued:” Last season was very tense and we wondered if we would come across the line to get to the Champions League and when we did it was a big problem.
“When I came here to see the team, the atmosphere was electric.
“We are all so proud and satisfied with what they have done and you can see the difference with a manager like Unai, who brings people together and works hard on the small details.
“He is really a good man manager with a great support staff around him and the players are happy to play for him.
“There have been many good managers in the time of Villa, but I would say that Unai is one step further for some of them in terms of his formations, and the length of detail that he goes with his videos.
“He spends hours debriefing the previous game to prepare them for the next one.
“He lives, eat, breathes and sleeps football and it gives you a bit of a lesson in life that if you really want to do something good, you have to throw everything at it and give you time.
“Unai is that dedicated, a fully obsessed man of football and he rubs the players.
“If you do what you love and speak so well about how you love it, they will follow you. It is a pretty good leadership point. “
William has often brought son George to games, but forces his oldest, or their brothers and sisters Charlotte or Louis, not to support Villa.
He said: “I hope they will all find their own teams on time. They don't all have to be Villa fans. I try not to be biased, but they clearly see how passionate I am about it and they watch the competitions with me. I try to spread the love a bit.
“They have Villa shirts and ask to come to games with me, but they also have other shirts. There is also a bit of the state of affairs by other managers. “
William also revealed his irritation on the TV Blackout, which forbids Premier League matches to broadcast on Saturday at 3 p.m. in England.
He said: “Going to Villa Park is not the easiest for me, but I like to watch as many games as I can be possible by being there or on TV.
“I really tried to make an effort to get there for all Champions League games, because it feels like that is something you should make the best when you are in it.
“The biggest thing at home is trying to find it on TV, because you clearly have the Saturday 3 p.m. Black -out that is annoying.”
Illegal firestick
He sets up the shutters when it is proposed that he could use an illegal fire stick. He laughs: 'Haha, no comment on that. However, I am a poured member of Villa TV, so I will stay informed.
“But it is really annoying that we still cannot watch the Premier League match of our own team in this country, but you can go abroad and watch every game.”
So when he watches Villa on TV, will he come to the MatchDay spirit as if he were in the ground?
He replied: “If I am home alone with the children, I probably don't have the pre-match pint, but I have a little superstition about where I am when I look at them.
“If we don't do so well, I quickly start going through the house and I put the children in different positions in the hope that this will change our happiness.”
William recently entered a Birmingham Wetherpoons to add before a beer before a competition at Villa for a competition at Everton.
He said: “I like to mix with the fans. Everything I love and they all love their villa.
“It is a family within a family and I feel part of the Villa family. This club does a lot – and I know that many clubs do it too – but I mainly feel it with villa in my life that I am very included.
“The morality and vision and the general atmosphere and the culture of the club are really important.
“For me it has always been very hospitable, very diverse and comprehensive.” He unhappy calls the Irish steadfast defender of the 90s, Paul McGrath, as the biggest villa player ever, while he also has a certain weakness for Norwegian striker John Carew.
He said: “Yes, it must be McGrath, right? I also loved Carew, he was a serious all -round player. There have been quite a few good, but it is two that I would choose. “
He also likes to take his opinion on the internet forums of fans, where he naturally posts anonymously.
He revealed: “I like to go on the forums, I've been there for centuries. I listen to what other fans have to say and give them my opinion. I am certainly completely in it. It is important to have that debate. “
However, he added: “Having said that, although I might be an armchair fan, I would not assume to tell Unai if he is doing something wrong.
“I am fascinated by what Unai does and how he adjusts his system and what he sees.
“I would like to know more about how he will manage the team better and how do you see those little details that nobody else does.”
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